


Rotting Heart

by Abiggaynerd



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 11:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21074126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abiggaynerd/pseuds/Abiggaynerd
Summary: Maxwell recalls a memory from his time on the throne.





	Rotting Heart

“I sat on the throne, and They opened my ribcage.  
They opened it up, and I couldn’t faint, and if I closed my eyes I know They would have taken them out too.  
They broke each rib open until my chest was an open book, my heart on display, and they ripped out my heart.  
I felt everything. I felt every broken bone and every torn artery and I didn’t make a single sound. They told me to put out my hands, and so I did. I held them out and They dropped my heart into my hands. It wasn’t beating anymore. I looked at it and They told me I was no longer human.  
They left and let me stuff my heart back into my chest, and I held it there and held it there, terrified to move, until the throne had healed me and my ribs reformed. Until my chest was closed and I was safe. But my heart never beat again.” 

“Maxwell...” 

“I’m so afraid,” Maxwell said, “That if I get torn open then all that will come out is rot. I will stare down and see the remains of an old, rotten, decayed heart. I’m so afraid that I am nothing but rot inside, nothing but rot, nothing but rot...” 

“That’s not possible.” 

“Wilson, I’m not human anymore.” 

“You bleed. I’ve seen you. You have a heart.” 

Wilson grabbed Maxwell’s hands, cold as ice. He felt for Maxwell’s pulse, before moving Maxwell’s hand to feel it himself. 

“See? It’s still beating.” 

Maxwell looked at Wilson with a lost expression. “When I bled. It’s black. It’s just- just fuel, maybe, or rot running through my veins...” 

“That’s not possible!” 

“Wilson, I’m not the man I once was... I don’t know if I’m even a man anymore. Am I just a ghost, thinking it’s still alive as it’s body decays from the inside out?” 

Wilson wrapped Maxwell in a hug, nuzzling into his neck. Maxwell allowed it, staring into the distance. 

“Wilson, I think I died long ago... I think I died when they ripped out my heart.” 

“Maybe so. But I think you’re here with me, and you’re alive, and I think you have a heart that is healthy and strong.” 

“How do you know?” 

“Because if you were dead, you wouldn’t have changed.”


End file.
